Bronze Age, Iron Age, Saxons, Normans and Victorians

Since prehistoric times Dartmoor has been a place of settled and industrial activity. Abundant evidence of Bronze and Iron Age settlers is littered across the diverse landscape of the High Moor.

This vast granite plateau has been seen as a key position of dominance by inhabitants, invaders and rulers alike. The Saxons used Dartmoor as and administrative centre, with kings such as Harold, Ethelred and Edward all using the North Dartmoor as a location for their royal mint.

Following the Norman Conquest, William the Conqueror met Saxon resistance in the West Country and was forced to establish numerous castles to defend their new Manors. Okehampton Castle is a prime example, standing on a prominent position commanding access through the West Okement approaches on the main route around the North of Dartmoor.

The granite rock is a wealth of natural resources. Miners extracted lodes of Tin, Copper, Arsenic, Lead, Zinc, Silver and Iron by digging tunnels and latterly shafts. Records show that Tin mining was well established on Dartmoor prior to 1200 AD. The Victorians developed a significant quarry to the West of Okehampton, where the Meldon Viaduct stands an example of Victorian engineering which is now a scheduled ancient monument.

Climate change drove the early settlers off the moors, leaving the landscape primarily to pasture. The damp rugged vales and dry granite topped Tors have a historic beauty, largely unspoilt and awaiting the anxious adventurer.